Need some help re getting in and out of 'Stans countries

[Bad Seed]

Hi all, I am in the early stages of planning a Silk Road holiday for this time next year. The trip starts in Bishkek in Kazakhstan and ends Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. After Turkmenistan, we (my significant other and I) have a week or so to kill anywhere that's interesting -we were thinking of going to Baku but looking at the Google Flights portal (thankyou for posting about that, its awesome, I hadn't used it before), we wanted to go to Baku for a couple of days and then elsewhere, its equally as expensive to go to Baku as it is to go to London so not sure about that anymore, especially not for only a couple of days. Anyway, we have to end up in Dubai for a week as my other half has a veteran's fencing tournament to attend before heading home. So, the flight combos are really mind boggling. Not really looking at point maximising or anything as we probably only have enough Qantas points for maybe one leg, just looking at the best way to get there or back as combinations over India or Korea seem options but these 'Stans are tricky places to get to/ from.

 

[RooFlyer]

@Bad Seed unless things have changed very recently, you cannot enter Turkmenistan except on a tour, but as its in your plans, you probably know that and have one lined up.

My TR on the 5 stans The 5 Stans of the Silk Road


This site is good for seeing what's out there in terms of flights ✈ FlightConnections - All flights worldwide on a flight map!

I have a subscription, so don't know what you can see without, but these are direct flights out of Ashgabat. You can drill down to individual flights between cities and their timings (and price).

When I flew to Ashgabat, I used FlyDubai from Dubai and that sounds a good option for you.



Bishkek

 

[RooFlyer]

Baku flights.

 

[Bad Seed]

Thankyou RooFlyer for the maps, yes I have a tour

 

[Mattg]

Flights out of Dushanbe are expensive, generally. If you can get to Tashkent or Almaty, there may be more options from there (including using points). Otherwise, as @RooFlyer says, there's Flydubai to Dubai.

 

[Scarlett]

TK flies everywhere in that part of the world, or you can save money with their no frills offshoot Anadolu Jet. Or another Turkish LCC, Pegasus.

If you haven’t already been there, I’d recommend heading to IST and then drive down to the Gallipoli peninsula. Or connect to Cappadocia. Or catch a cheap flight over to Ercan on Northern Cyprus. Or laze at one of the beach resorts near Antalya. Even with a weaker AUD, it’s still pretty good against the TRY, so holidays in Turkey can be competitively priced.

 

[burmans]

Are you on a G adventures tour as this matches my recent trip. I flew in via Almaty (on Qatar) then Air Astana to Bishkek. At the time only flights from Ashgabat was TK to Istanbul daily and Flydubai twice a week to Dubai but this was only a month after Turkmenistan opened so may be more now.

Loved the trip incidentally!!

 

[Bad Seed]

Hi Burmans, I think I have read your blog, it was great info. We are going with Kalpak, although G Adventures was on the short list

 

[Bad Seed]

Thanks Scarlett, I have been to Turkey -one of my favourite travel memories (sadly probably unachievable these days) is walking the 1 km (?) border no-man's land between Syria and Eastern Turkey back in about 1998. I'm not familiar with Turkey's LCCs so will check them out, haven't been to Cyprus, that could be a goer...

 

[sqkiwi]

Having worked in Kazakhstan for 5 years there is no easy option. From Aus, I’d goto Delhi and fly AirAstana from there. Book DEL-ALA(Stop)-xx_ and an open jaw return.
Uzbekistan Airways sometimes does not appear on Google Flights, but is a good option as well.
Turkish works as well, but their OW pricing is often more than roundtrip.

 

[burmans]

Hi Burmans, I think I have read your blog, it was great info. We are going with Kalpak, although G Adventures was on the short list

No worries, Kalpak seem highly regarded too!

 

[Forg]

What about calling Jack Ryan?

 

[RooFlyer]

. I'm not familiar with Turkey's LCCs

Pre covid, Pegasus was ok ( and I hate LCCs)

 

[Bad Seed]

Thanks Sqkiwi, my BIL does regular work in Uzbekistan as a surveyor so has flown with Uzbekistan Airways a few times and finds them okay

 

[AIRwin]

Turkmenistan Airlines launches direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, boosting Malaysia-Central Asia connectivity - TravelDailyNews Asia & Pacific

Discover the dynamic world of travel and hospitality in the Asia-Pacific region. Since 2012, TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific offers in-depth coverage of regional trends, market developments, and business strategies for industry professionals.

www.traveldailynews.asia

 

[Bad Seed]

Thanks for your link AIRwin, we are almost all sorted EXCEPT for the flight out of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. The Turkmenistan Airlines website is incredibly hard to navigate (none of the pop ups do what they are supposed to). We actually did one of the above options to get there via India, Qantas and Air Astana which was a great option to get to Kyrgyzstan with a few days in India to boot. We now are confirmed with a fencing tournament in Dubai after the tour so just need to get from Ashgabat to Dubai so its either Air Dubai or Turkmenistan Air. The issue is that Air Dubiai don't fly on the day we need to leave and we can't work the Turkmenistan website however our tour company said they will help us closer to the date (they do this a lot LOL)

 

[RooFlyer]

so its either Air Dubai or Turkmenistan Air. The issue is that Air Dubiai don't fly on the day we need to leave and we can't work the Turkmenistan website however our tour company said they will help us closer to the date (they do this a lot LOL)

You mean FlyDubai I guess?

 

[Bad Seed]

Probably yes (sorry, can't get the quote thing working, there's always a pop up in the way)

 

[AIRwin]

Anyone heard of Centrum?

Centrum Air Adds Langkawi / Tel Aviv in NW24 — AeroRoutes

Published at 1400GMT 16SEP24 Uzbek carrier Centrum Air during Northern winter 2024/25 season schedules 2 new scheduled routes, as the airline schedules service to Langkawi and Tel Aviv. Tashkent – Langkawi eff 01NOV24 1 weekly A321neo (216 seats) C65547 TAS0430 – 1420LGK 32Q 5 C65548 LGK1550

www.aeroroutes.com

 

[Mattg]

Anyone heard of Centrum?

Centrum Air Adds Langkawi / Tel Aviv in NW24 — AeroRoutes

Published at 1400GMT 16SEP24 Uzbek carrier Centrum Air during Northern winter 2024/25 season schedules 2 new scheduled routes, as the airline schedules service to Langkawi and Tel Aviv. Tashkent – Langkawi eff 01NOV24 1 weekly A321neo (216 seats) C65547 TAS0430 – 1420LGK 32Q 5 C65548 LGK1550

www.aeroroutes.com

Nope!

I did see this though and think that TAS-TLV and TAS-LGK seemed like rather random routes!